20th CENTURY CHINA: A PARTIAL CHRONOLOGY

PART ONE: PRE-1989

1919

Beginning on May 4th, college students staged a
series of demonstrations to protest the terms of the Versailles
Treaty, which ceded German territories in China to Japan rather
than returning them to China after World War I. These
demonstrations inaugurated a new phase of national consciousness in
China, and the term "May 4th Movement" came to symbolize the spirit
of patriotism among youths. In modern Chinese history, the term
"May 4th Period" signifies an era of intense intellectual debate
concerning the roles of traditional Chinese culture, modern
science, and Western style democracy.

1949

Atop Tiananmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) on October
1, Mao Zedong proclaims the establishment of the People's Republic
of China.

1966-76

A ten-year period which Mao calls "the Cultural
Revolution." Since Mao's death, it has often been referred to as
"the ten years of turmoil." The period is characterized by power
struggles among the Chinese leadership, by the rise of "Red Guards"
and "revolutionary rebels" among the populous, and by extensive
political persecutions involving all sectors of Chinese society.
Deng Xiaoping and many other high ranking leaders fall from
power.

1976

Premier Zhou Enlai dies on January 8. In April,
thousands of people gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate him
and criticize Mao's closest associates. Clashes between mourners
and police result in the "Tiananmen Incident," which the government
brands as a counter-revolutionary event.

Mao Zedong dies on September 9. On October 6, Mao's four closest
associates--including his wife, Jiang Qing--are arrested. Deng
gradually rises to power once more, and the official verdict of the
"Tiananmen Incident" is overturned.

1978

A stretch of construction wall near a busy commercial district in
Beijing attracts nation-wide attention as the "Democracy Wall," a
place where people put up posters to voice their criticism of the
political system.

1979

On January 1, the United States and the People's
Republic of China formally establish diplomatic relations.

Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping arrives in the U.S. on January 28, the
first official visit ever by a senior Chinese Communist
leader.

The government suppresses the "Democracy Wall" and arrests several
activists, the most famous among them being Wei Jingsheng. Wei is
sentenced to fifteen years in prison.

1981

In June, Hu Yaobang is appointed as the Party
General Secretary.

1986

In late fall, college students in several cities
stage demonstrations to demand political reform.

1987

In January, Hu Yaobang is accused of being soft on
the student protests and on "bourgeois liberalism," and is forced
to resign. Later, Zhao Ziyang becomes the General Secretary of the
Communist Party, and Li Peng the Premier.

1988

The Central Committee endorses Premier Li Peng's
policy to slow the pace of economic reforms, a setback for Zhao
Ziyang.

April 15

Former Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang, deposed
in 1987, dies of a massive heart attack. People began to gather in
Tiananmen Square to commemorate Hu and voice their
discontents.

April 22

The official memorial service for Hu Yaobang is
held in the Great Hall of the People. Demanding to meet with
Premier Li Peng, three student representatives carry a petition and
kneel on the steps of the Great Hall in front of the 100,000
students who have gathered in the Square the night before. Li Peng
does not respond, and the students refuse to let minor officials
pass on the petition. Angered by official apathy, students begin
boycotting classes.

April 26

The Communist Party newspaper People's Daily
publishes an editorial accusing a
"small handful of plotters" of stirring up student unrest and
creating turmoil in order to overthrow the Communist Party and the
socialist system.

April 27

Ignoring warnings of violent suppression, students
from more than 40 universities march to Tiananmen in protest of the
April 26th editorial.

May 4

Party General Secretary Zhao Ziyang, in a meeting
with foreign bankers, makes a speech which in essence contradicts
the April 26th People's Daily editorial.

May 13

Several hundred students begin a hunger strike at
Tiananmen Square in the afternoon.

May 14

Second day of hunger strike. In the afternoon,
elected student representatives charged with the responsibility for
dialogue with the government begin formal talks with the
government. The talks breaks down because the promised broadcast
does not materialize. In the early evening, twelve of China's most
famous writers and scholars present their emergency appeals at the
Square, calling on the government to acknowledge the movement as a
patriotic democracy movement and calling on the students to end
their hunger strike. Their efforts fail.

May 15

Third day of hunger strike. Gorbachev arrives in
Beijing for the first Sino-Soviet summit since 1959. The government
cancels plans to welcome Gorbachev at Tiananmen Square.

May 18

Sixth day of hunger strike. Li Peng summons several
student leaders for a televised talk at the Great Hall of the
People. Nothing is achieved. [Full
transcript of this televised meeting available.] The government
prepares to declare martial law.

May 19

Seventh day of hunger strike. The government's plan
for martial law is leaked to student leaders, who call off the
hunger strike and declare a mass sit-in.

The Independent Workers Union (IWU) is founded at Tiananmen
Square.

In an evening speech, Premier Li Peng calls for "firm and resolute
measures to end the turmoil swiftly." [Full text
of speech available.]

May 20

The government formally declares martial law in
Beijing, but the army's advance towards the city is blocked by
large numbers of students and citizens.

May 23

The troops pull back to the outskirts of
Beijing.

The Alliance to Protect the Constitution is set up in order to
coordinate the actions of the various groups involved in the
movement.

May 24

The Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters is set up.
Chai Ling is named Commander-in-Chief.

May 27

The Alliance to Protect the Constitution decides by
a unanimous vote to recommend that the students end their
occupation of the Square on May 30th. The resolution is announced
at a press conference in the Square.

May 28

The Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters rejects
the May 27th resolution to end the occupation of Tiananmen
Square.

June 2

June 3

Troops receive orders to reclaim Tiananmen Square
at all cost. Around 10:00 pm, soldiers open fire on people who try
to block the army's advance, as well as on those who are simply
shouting at the troops. Tanks and armored personnel carriers move
toward the center of the city. Many people in the streets are
killed or wounded, including bystanders.

June 4

Around 4:00 am, the four men who began a hunger strike on June 2
negotiate with the troops to allow the students to leave the
Square.

Around 5:00 am, several thousand students, and their teachers and
supporters leave the Square at gunpoint.

[Read a detailed account of the night of June 3-4 in Black Hands of Beijing, by George
Black and Robin Munro.]

June 9

Deng Xiaoping, in a nationally broadcast television
appearance, speaks to the commanders of the martial-law units. [Full transcript of his speech
available.]

ADDITIONAL READINGS

The documentary film, The Gate of Heavenly Peace, focuses on the
events of April-June 1989 as they occurred in Beijing. The protests
that spring, however, were not isolated to the capital; while time
did not allow the film to examine events in other cities,
additional readings on this topic are available on this site. See
The Pro-Democracy Protests in
China, edited by Jonathan Unger.